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Morning Gloryville: Rave Your Way into the Day

Remember the days when you used to stumble home from the club at 6:30 a.m.? How would you feel about heading to the club at that same pre-dawn hour...on a Wednesday? That's the concept behind Morning Gloryville, a monthly coffee-fueled rave complete with free massages, yoga, smoothies, and a lineup of world-class DJs spinning house, electronic, trance, and other high-energy beats. [Tweet this news!]

If you're picturing a hippie-driven Zumba class on steroids, stop. It's a legit, totally-sober (no drugs or alcohol allowed), free-spirited, well-lit rave. People are literally rocking out in a beautiful, wide-open space to heart-pumping music alongside a motivational dance team who's there to inspire everyone to keep moving. Building up a sweat is easy on a crowded dance floor, which is why many people choose to come wearing workout clothes—though all forms of attire are welcome, from fun costumes to buttoned-up suits.

“I discovered it while visiting my hometown of London in December and fell in love with the positive energy. I was so inspired, I immediately asked its co-founder Samantha Moyo if I could bring it back with me to NYC,” said Annie Fabricant, who was hired in January to be New York's first “Glory Agent.”

Moyo kicked off the monthly morning dance experience in the U.K. last summer with 200 attendees and hosts bi-monthly parties that sell out to more than 800 people. The four-hour-long U.S. debut event, which cost $20, lured nearly 200 city-dwellers—everyone from hipsters to yogis to freelancers to corporate professionals—to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. By the next event on June 18, the group hopes to double attendance.

“A lot of people are morning haters, myself included," Fabricant said. "But I want to get out of bed for this. The energy is so powerful—it's the best party I've ever been to." Of course, as a “Glory Agent,” she's a little biased, but other attendees echoed her sentiments.

“For me, music is everything," said Meike Schuetek, 37, who arrived at the party at 7 and was planning to head straight to work at 9. "If I can dance in the morning, it makes me so happy. You can't top this vibe—it's all smiles and hugs. And it's a good workout."

Rikki Kamenski, 27, a local yoga teacher, found the event to be as intoxicating as a rave. “We're all naturally high as opposed other ways. It's also hard to party all night and teach yoga in the next day."

Check out my video from Wednesday's rave. What do you think? Would you wake up early for a Morning Gloryville event? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @Shape_Magazine.